Cover art: Cliff Nielsen
Cover design: Lauren Panepinto
THE KINGDOM OF GODS
BOOK THREE OF THE INHERITANCE TRILOGY
BY
N. K. JEMISIN
ISBN: 978-0-316-04393-9
Pages: 575 +extras (includes short story)
Publisher: Orbit
First published: 6 October 2011
This edition published: 27 October 2011
On the cover:
For two thousand years the Arameri family has ruled the world by enslaving the very gods that created mortalkind. Now the gods are free, and the Arameri's ruthless grip is slipping. But they are all that stands between peace and world-spanning, unending war.
Shahar, last scion of the family, must choose her loyalties. She yearns to trust Sieh, the godling she loves. Yet her duty as Arameri heir is to uphold the family's interests, even if that means using and destroying everyone she cares for.
The concluding volume in The Inheritance Trilogy, just as book two, doesn't follow straight on from the previous book, but it does advance the story of the gods in the world Jemisin has created. This time we are following Sieh, a god we first met in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.
Sieh really shines as a main character. His story here is really one of personal growth in many ways. Despite starting out the novel as a god, the strength of Sieh here is how human he is a character. What we see Sieh go through is a journey of discovery that will be very familiar.
Sieh is of course not the only character, there are plenty of others. And although most of them are actually gods, they are relatable. Jemisin is good at getting you to care for the characters she has created, and that makes it easy to get drawn into what is happening to them.
There's several layers to this story. Like I mentioned above there is a clear element of growth, and change here, but there is a significant element of mystery here too. Jemisin does create a lot of suspense in the mystery part of the story, she really writes in a way that creates a lot of suspense. There is much that is hidden as the story progresses, but it never feels like it should have been told. That which isn't disclosed does have a reason for being secret behind it.
The pacing of the story is really an interesting one. The speed at which things progress can best be described as measured, but with some sudden spikes of speed. This works very well in this story, you do get a sense of it going along at its natural pace all the time. When things do speed up from time to time it is because events demand it, and that is especially true of the ending.
If you want endings that take your breath away, then this really will be perfect for you. There is a lot happening, and it's hard to have any idea of how things are going to end up. Some of what happened took me completely by surprise, but I never felt Jemisin "cheated" to do that. This just isn't your average ending to a Fantasy trilogy, and it is all the better for it.
All in all I found this a really satisfying conclusion to the Inheritance Trilogy. What begun in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms comes to a conclusion here. Even though we have followed different characters, on a path that has never been completely straight, this trilogy does really come together.
This really is a great ending to a debut trilogy, and one that shows anyone who has had any doubts that Jemisin is an author to be reckoned with. It's a powerful ending to a great story, and I highly recommend these books to any Fantasy fan.
REVIEWS: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms The Broken Kingdoms
LINKS: N.K. Jemisin Orbit
Sieh really shines as a main character. His story here is really one of personal growth in many ways. Despite starting out the novel as a god, the strength of Sieh here is how human he is a character. What we see Sieh go through is a journey of discovery that will be very familiar.
Sieh is of course not the only character, there are plenty of others. And although most of them are actually gods, they are relatable. Jemisin is good at getting you to care for the characters she has created, and that makes it easy to get drawn into what is happening to them.
There's several layers to this story. Like I mentioned above there is a clear element of growth, and change here, but there is a significant element of mystery here too. Jemisin does create a lot of suspense in the mystery part of the story, she really writes in a way that creates a lot of suspense. There is much that is hidden as the story progresses, but it never feels like it should have been told. That which isn't disclosed does have a reason for being secret behind it.
The pacing of the story is really an interesting one. The speed at which things progress can best be described as measured, but with some sudden spikes of speed. This works very well in this story, you do get a sense of it going along at its natural pace all the time. When things do speed up from time to time it is because events demand it, and that is especially true of the ending.
If you want endings that take your breath away, then this really will be perfect for you. There is a lot happening, and it's hard to have any idea of how things are going to end up. Some of what happened took me completely by surprise, but I never felt Jemisin "cheated" to do that. This just isn't your average ending to a Fantasy trilogy, and it is all the better for it.
All in all I found this a really satisfying conclusion to the Inheritance Trilogy. What begun in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms comes to a conclusion here. Even though we have followed different characters, on a path that has never been completely straight, this trilogy does really come together.
This really is a great ending to a debut trilogy, and one that shows anyone who has had any doubts that Jemisin is an author to be reckoned with. It's a powerful ending to a great story, and I highly recommend these books to any Fantasy fan.
REVIEWS: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms The Broken Kingdoms
LINKS: N.K. Jemisin Orbit
I don't think I liked this one quite as much as I liked the first two, but even so, I still really liked it! And as soon as I could tell the identity of the narrator, I knew it would going to be an interesting ride. Sieh and Nahadoth are my two favourite deities in that pantheon, so seeing things from Sieh's perspective was just awesome!
ReplyDelete